31 May 2011

Mat: Satu analisa rambang hakikat semasa

Mat, Minah, Dolah dan Siti ini semuanya rakyat Malaysia. Mereka punya kerisauan masing-masing dan harapan serta cita-cita tersendiri. Mat, Minah, Dolah dan Siti; sebenarnya tak banyak beza dengan kau dan aku. Kita ini semua punya persamaan yang jelas. Mungkin cuma satu persamaan, atau barangkali lebih. Apa yang nyata, kita ini semua rakyat Malaysia yang punya tekanan-tekanan dan situasi ekonomi yang mengharukan.
oleh Izmil Amri Ismail di Roketkini.com




Mat, pakai jeans koyak. Punya telefon bimbit yang tak boleh 3G. Cukup sekadar hantar SMS, dan buat bergayut dengan awek sampai pukul dua tiga pagi. Mat jual burger. Burger Mat kadang-kadang laku. Tambah laku bila Manchester United sesah pasukan lawan di Old Trafford di paparan sebesar gajah restoran mamak yang memberi tumpang dia buka gerai burger. Mat tak belajar tinggi. Waktu tingkatan empat, dia sudah ada lesen motor. Arwah bapa Mat suruh dia ambil lesen motor supaya senang dia pergi sekolah, dan sekali sekala tolong ibunya ke kedai, beli perkakas dapur. Gula, garam, telur, bawang. Mat guna motor untuk bawa ceweknya pusing kotaraya. Kadang-kadang bila ceweknya itu buat perangai, Mat guna motornya untuk lepas geram. Mat bawa motornya itu, jumpa kawan-kawan, yang turut bermotor juga. Mereka beradu motor siapa lebih hebat. Motor siapa lebih ‘blah’.

Mat tidak baca surat khabar. Kalau Mat lalu di kedai runcit untuk beli sekotak rokok seludup, dia cuma jeling muka depan. Nampak satu dua tajuk utama yang selalunya punya kata seperti ‘bogel’, ‘seks’, ‘video’ dan ‘laknat’; kemudian Mat akan blah. Mat juga tidak tonton berita di televisyen. Rumah Mat tak ada pun televisyen. Arwah bapa Mat jual televisyen, supaya boleh bagi duit belanja untuk adik-adik Mat yang lagi sembilan orang. Supaya adik-adik Mat boleh makan minum dan tidak terliur tengok kawan makan di waktu rehat. Mat tak peduli Buletin Utama TV3. Mat langsung tak tahu ada TV Hijrah. Mat hanya kadang-kadang ikut ceweknya itu duduk restoran tomyam, tonton drama petang-petang, atau pertandingan nyanyi-nyanyi.

Cewek Mat ini, namanya Minah. Tapi disebabkan cewek Mat ini tak mahu digelar ‘kampung’ maka panggilnya Min sahaja. Min, juga pakai jeans koyak. Cumanya jeans Min ini melekat di punggung. Mat suka. Ada sekali-sekala Mat tepuk-tepuk, tapi tak boleh di khalayak. Min akan menjeling manja bila Mat buat begitu. Cinta dan sayangnya pada Mat menghapus apa batas yang ada dicadangkan orang. Min sudah tiada dara. Min, bertuah sedikit badannya, punya telefon bimbit yang boleh 3G. Min kerja kerani pejabat loyar. Hari-hari Min sembang dengan kerani lain; tentang pertandingan nyanyi-nyanyi yang dia paksa Mat tonton bersama. Kadang-kadang tentang angan-angannya mau kenduri kahwin macam Kate Middleton. Tapi Mat bukan anak raja. Maka Min boleh angan-angan saja.

Min dulu ada sambung mengaji. Tapi tengah-tengah rajin menaip tutoran, Mat akan hantar SMS, mahu manja-manja. Selesai manja-manja, Mat akan ajak bergayut. Min tak kisah. Super saver ada. Lagipun Min dapat duit dari papa dan mamanya setiap minggu. Maka kerja Min terbengkalai. Dan Min tak bercita-cita untuk sambung mengaji. Dia hanya mahu peluk Mat, dengan penuh kasih sayang. Kemudian ubah lelaki itu menjadi Prince William bila nanti Mat buat keputusan jantan mengajaknya bernikah. Ajak kahwin sudah berkali-kali. Kahwinnya juga sudah berkali-kali. Cuma nikah sahaja belum. Min tak kisah. Min sayang Mat. Cinta mereka sama sebiji macam kisah cinta yang Min tonton di Panggung Sabtu. Atau macam cerita cinta yang Min baca dalam novel-novel cinta yang dia pinjam dari abang angkatnya waktu belajar dulu. Abang angkat Min baik. Suka tolong Min. Tapi Mat tak tahu. Mat tak perlu tahu.

Abang angkat Min, namanya Dolah.

Dolah, pakai seluar slack. Sepatu murahnya sudah lama tidak dikilat. Tapi apa dia kisah. Dolah kerja pejabat pos. Duduk belakang kaunter, tunggu orang datang bayar bil air api. Dolah, ada kereta. Dolah guna keretanya itu untuk hantar anak-anaknya pergi sekolah, sebelum hantar isterinya pergi kerja. Ada masanya juga, Dolah guna keretanya untuk bawa Min jalan-jalan. Hiburkan hati. Dolah tak boleh dipersalahkan. Dia punya tanggungjawab besar untuk cari rezeki buat beri makan anak bini. Dolah mahu masa untuk diri sendiri juga. Kasihan Dolah.

Dolah, punya beban berat. Pada usia baru lewat dua-puluhan, dia punya beban hutang belajar, walau pun belajarnya tak habis. Dicampur itu dengan beban hutang kereta. Kemudian campur lagi hutang rumah. Kemudian kira sama belanja anak bini. Campur sekali duit untuk orang tua di kampung. Campur pula duit yang dia belanja untuk hiburkan hati yang lara disebabkan hutang-hutangnya. Dolah, jarang punya masa untuk tonton televisyen. Menonton televisyen di rumah sepulangnya dari kerja, ertinya merelakan telinganya mendengar anak bini memekak. Dolah buat salah besar kahwin pada usia ini, pada janda anak dua.

Siti ini, bininya si Dolah. Siti janda. Lakinya mati sakit jantung. Dia selalu salahkan dirinya, kerana suka masak makanan berminyak. Tapi Siti pandai. Siti tak makan apa yang dia masak. Maka Siti hidup sihat. Siti masih bergetah. Sebab itu Dolah tergoda. Siti tak buang masa. Siti goda Dolah. Siti menikah lagi. Siti suka. Dolah sayang Siti. Dolah akan korban apa saja untuk Siti. Sebab Siti pandai layan Dolah.

Siti kerja bank. Hari-hari Siti bergosip dengan kawan-kawannya tentang pelanggan bank yang tak bayar hutang. Tentang pelanggan mana yang duitnya banyak. Tentang pelanggan mana yang beli rumah, beli kereta. Siti tahu ekonomi negara merosot. Siti tahu nilai matawang dunia menyusut. Siti tahu harga barang naik. Siti sedar harga petrol naik. Siti tengok orang datang minta pinjam wang hari-hari. Mahu buka perniagaan, mahu kerja sendiri, mahu cari duit; supaya boleh sara anak bini.

Siti tonton televisyen dengan anak-anak. Sambil anak-anak buat kerja sekolah, dan curi pandang pada kaca televisyen. Siti tengok berita TV3. Anak Siti tanya, “Mak.. liwat tu apa?” Siti sengih. Siti kata, “Dia salah sebut. LEWAT la. L-e-w-a-t.” Siti padam televisyen. Tunggu Dolah balik kerja. Malam tu malam Jumaat.

Anak Siti ketawa mengekek. Anak Siti kata dalam hati, “Mak ni, ingat aku bodoh ke.” Anak Siti masuk internet. Anak Siti buka Google.

Mat, Minah, Dolah dan Siti ini semuanya rakyat Malaysia. Mereka punya kerisauan masing-masing dan harapan serta cita-cita tersendiri. Mat, Minah, Dolah dan Siti; sebenarnya tak banyak beza dengan kau dan aku. Kita ini semua punya persamaan yang jelas. Mungkin cuma satu persamaan, atau barangkali lebih. Apa yang nyata, kita ini semua rakyat Malaysia yang punya tekanan-tekanan dan situasi ekonomi yang mengharukan.

Anak-anak muda seperti Mat dan Min, tidak sangat peduli dengan politik idea. Dolah juga serupa. Dia lebih peduli tentang duit. Kerisauan dia itu lebih material, dibanding dengan kerisauan tentang pihak-pihak yang tidak memberi banyak kesan padanya, seperti puak yang sebar video lucah. Seperti kelas pertengahan yang hampir tidak membaca, politik hanya difahami sebagai pertarungan parti-parti politik untuk merebut kekuasaan untuk memperjuangkan kepentingan masing-masing.

Anak muda memandang politisi sebagai grup yang ‘poyo’ dan tidak selari dengan gaya mereka. Maka ide politik tidak menjadi tarikan. Kerana ide politik tidak ‘cool’. Semahunya mereka ini, supaya tidak mengambil garis partisan, supaya tak nampak ‘poyo’ dan tua sebelum usia. Namun hakikatnya anak muda tidak bisa lari jauh, dari efek politisi dan politik. Mahu tidak mahu, perlu peduli juga. Terutamanya bila Mat nak merempit, mahu beli minyak rasa macam lebih baik makan nasi ayam. Atau bila Min mahu buat kueh raya, tidak bisa guna gula. Bila Dolah hampir bankrap dan tidak lagi boleh hora-hora. Bila Siti punya anak-anak, terlebih bijak dan tidak teringin masuk sorga kerana tidak rasa perlu agama. Semua itu politik belaka.

Ketika setiap sensitiviti kita diruntun, dan marah kita dipetik; di waktu itu baru mau bangkit melawan dan mengaku peduli.

Mungkin dah lambat beb.

27 May 2011

PAS Berupaya dan Bersedia Mentadbir Negara - Wan Nasuha

Seteru PAS kerap mengungkit-ngungkitkan kewujudan kumpulan 'erdogan' dan kumpulan 'ulama' di dalam parti itu. Idea mereka adalah itu menunjukkan PAS tidak bersatu. Mereka mengukuri PAS dengan mengguna kacamata sama yang mereka gunakan untuk menilai Umno. Mereka tersilap. Sebagai sebuah parti yang demokratik dan yang yakin atas asas ideologi perjuangannya, PAS tidak segan silu untuk mengaku terdapatnya perbezaan pendapat dan pandangan di kalangan ahli dan pemimpinnya berhubung isu-isu semasa. Apa yang mustahak perbezaan itu adalah berkaitan pendekatan dan penekanan, bukannya pergeseran disebabkan jawatan dan pembahagian habuan sebagaimana yang kerap disaksikan di dalam parti pemerintah.
oleh Wan Nasuha Wan Hassan melalui e-mel



PAS adalah sebuah parti politik yang berasaskan sokongan dan keahlian Melayu Islam. Setelah 60 tahun berada di arena politik Malaysia, parti itu kini sudah mencapai kematangan dan penerimaan di kalangan masyarakat majmuk Malaysia untuk menjadi parti pemerintah.

Persekitaran politik, ekonomi dan teknologi di luar dan dalam negara telah banyak berubah dan arus perubahan itu akan terus berlaku. Berkemungkinan besar akan jadi lagi cepat dan hebat. Banyak ketidakpastian menunggu di masa hadapan tetapi hanya satu perkara yang pasti, yakni dunia akan terus berubah dan negara kita akan tidak dapat lari dari dibawa arus perubahan.

Lawan PAS jelas tidak berupaya untuk mengubah dirinya dari dalam untuk menangani cabaran-cabaran baru kepada kekuasaannya. Saluran maklumat dan media baru jelas tidak dapat dikongkongi atau dikawal, melainkan parti pemerintah meluluskan peraturan dan undang-undang internet yang akan mengakibatkan negara ini dicap sebagai 'pariah' atau kera sumbang dalam arena bisnes, pelaburan dan hak asasi manusia. Segala tindak tanduk dan keputusan kerajaan perlu dipertahankan sentiasa dengan hujah-hujah yang munasabah dan masuk akal. Ini tidak terdaya dilakukan oleh lawan PAS.

PAS pula berupaya untuk berubah demi menangani dan menghadapi cabaran-cabaran baru, bersikap responsif kepada perubahan persekitaran tanpa mengorbankan prinsip perjuangan yang berteraskan Islam. Ini terbukti semasa kemelut penolakan kepimpinan Dato Asri Hj Muda tiga dekad lepas. PAS telah berjaya mengakhiri bab itu dengan membuat dirinya lebih mantap dan setia kepada prinsip perjuangan Islam.

Seteru PAS kerap mengungkit-ngungkitkan kewujudan kumpulan 'erdogan' dan kumpulan 'ulama' di dalam parti itu. Idea mereka adalah itu menunjukkan PAS tidak bersatu. Mereka mengukuri PAS dengan mengguna kacamata sama yang mereka gunakan untuk menilai Umno. Mereka tersilap. Sebagai sebuah parti yang demokratik dan yang yakin atas asas ideologi perjuangannya, PAS tidak segan silu untuk mengaku terdapatnya perbezaan pendapat dan pandangan di kalangan ahli dan pemimpinnya berhubung isu-isu semasa. Apa yang mustahak perbezaan itu adalah berkaitan pendekatan dan penekanan, bukannya pergeseran disebabkan jawatan dan pembahagian habuan sebagaimana yang kerap disaksikan di dalam parti pemerintah.

Sebenarnya, tidak terdapat kumpulan 'erdogan' atau kumpulan 'ulama' di dalam PAS. Dewan Syura' Ulama adalah badan parti yang dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menentukan bahawa segala dasar dan polisi PAS adalah bertepatan dengan lunas dan prinsip agama Islam. Ini sejajar dengan definisi ulama berdasarkan firman "Sesungguhnya yang menaruh bimbang dan takut (melanggar perintah) Allah dari kalangan hamba-hambaNya hanyalah orang-orang yang berilmu (ULAMA). Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Kuasa, lagi Maha Pengampun." [Al-Faathir 35:28]. Tuan Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat menyatakan ulama ialah orang berilmu. Tidak hanya mengkhususkan kepada agamawan sahaja. Ianya mencakupi ilmu yang lebih luas. [Harakah 19-21/9/2008]. Berpegang kepada definisi tersebut, jelas kepada kita bahawa tiada golongan erdogan atau kumpulan ulama di dalam jemaah PAS sebagaimana yang digambarkan oleh propaganda musuh.

PAS sebagaimana agama Islam adalah satu parti yang inklusif. Sesiapa sahaja boleh memeluk agama Islam dan sesiapa sahaja boleh menjadi ahli PAS. Dasar ini kian menarik ramai tenaga profesional, teknokrat dan akademik untuk menyertai PAS, terutamanya dari golongan muda dan berpelajaran. Golongan inilah yang akan membekalkan tenaga pentadbir dan pelaksanaan polisi. Mereka tertarik untuk menjadi ahli PAS kerana integriti dan ketaatan kepimpinan dan keahlian PAS terhadap prinsip perjuangan. Mereka sudah muak dan jelak dengan budaya bergiat dalam parti politik untuk mendapat kontrak, lesen dan permit. Ini adalah golongan anak muda yang ikhlas mahu berjuang untuk masyarakat dan Alhamdullillah, PAS adalah pilihan mereka.

Segala pengalaman yang diraih dalam memerintah Kelantan dan Kedah pastinya akan digunakan oleh PAS untuk melengkapkan dirinya untuk memerintah negara. Sememangnya parti pembangkang yang memerintah sebuah negeri sentiasa mendapat berbagai cabaran dan rintangan dari kerajaan persekutuan yang diperintah oleh parti lawan. Segala yang dipelajari akan menjadi asas untuk membentuk sebuah kerajaan pusat yang adil dan saksama.

Berdasarkan penerimaan dan sokongan kepadanya dari segenap masyarakat Malaysia, di desa dan di kota, sesungguhnya PAS sekarang berada di kedudukan di mana ia berupaya dan bersedia untuk mengganti pemerintahan yang ada sekarang untuk mentadbir negara tercinta.



WAN NASUHA BINTI WAN HASSAN

Pendaftaran Rumah Anak Yatim: Ada Ruang Untuk Proses Dilicin dan Dipercepatkan - Miskam Suparman

Susulan dari tragedi tanah runtuh yang menimpa Rumah Anak Yatim At-Taqwa, berbagai-bagai badan kerajaan dan politik telah menghulur bantuan kepada mangsa tragedi dan keluarga mereka. Ini pastinya adalah sesuatu yang amat baik, menggembirakan dan positif. Yang mungkin sedikit negatif adalah kemungkinan bantuan diberi dan diumumkan atas motif mengaut keuntungan politik atau 'political mileage'. Saya dengan rendah diri menyeru semua pihak untuk memberi segala bantuan dalam apa bentuk sekalipun dengan niat ikhlas untuk menolong membebankan ringan mangsa tragedi dan keluarga mereka. Janganlah harapkan apa-apa pulangan dari pertolongan yang diberi. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui akan isi hati kita sentiasa.
oleh Miskam Hj Suparman melalui e-mel



Perhatian saya tertarik dengan kenyataan Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, bahawa Rumah Anak Yatim dan Anak Hidayah Madrasah At-Taqwa di Hulu Langat, lokasi kejadian tanah runtuh baru-baru ini, tidak berdaftar dengan Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM).

Saya tidak mempertikaikan kenyataan menteri tersebut dan percaya mesti terdapat rekod JKM yang menunjukkan rumah anak yatim terbabit tidak berdaftar dengannya. Apa yang ingin saya bawa kepada perhatian umum adalah proses untuk rumah yatim mendaftar dengan JKM, setahu saya, memerlukan kelulusan terlebih dahulu dari tiga badan berkuasa iaitu Kementerian Kesihatan, Jabatan Bomba dan pihak berkuasa tempatan. Ini saya yakin adalah kerana terdapat syarat-syarat dan garispanduan yang mesti dipatuhi oleh sesebuah rumah anak yatim sebelum boleh ia dikenali secara rasmi sebagai rumah sedemikian.

Bagi rumah anak yatim pula, pendaftaran dengan JKM membolehkan bantuan kewangan berdasarkan bilangan anak yatim yang menghuni rumah tersebut diberi oleh JKM. Rumah anak yatim yang tidak mendaftar dengan JKM tidak layak menerima bantuan ini.

Apa yang membuat saya terkilan berkaitan perkara di atas adalah terdapatnya kes di mana tiga badan berkuasa yang disebut di atas lembab atau tidak responsif dalam memberi maklumbalas kepada permohonan yang telah diserah oleh rumah anak yatim. Saya sendiri tahu akan kes sebuah rumah anak yatim di Lembah Kelang ini yang selepas setahun membuat permohonan telah mendapat jawapan kelulusan daripada hanya satu di kalangan tiga badan berkuasa yang terbabit. Yang dua lagi terus bisu menyepi. Ini pada saya amatlah tidak bertimbangrasa.

Bantuan kewangan JKM amat besar maknanya kepada anak-anak yatim. Pihak-pihak yang berkuasa untuk memberi kelulusan mestilah bersikap lebih bertanggungjawab dan prihatin supaya tidak menutup rezeki anak yatim. Mereka mestilah memberi keutamaan kepada permohonan kelulusan yang diterima dari rumah-rumah anak yatim dan bertindak sertamerta memberi maklumbalas mereka. Sekiranya ada syarat dan garispanduan yang tidak dipenuhi oleh rumah anak yatim yang memohon, beritahulah dengan segera supaya langkah pembetulan boleh diambil oleh pengurusan rumah anak yatim. Pokoknya, ini semua akan memberi kesan kepada kebajikan dan rezeki anak-anak yatim penghuni rumah tersebut.

Saya juga menyeru kepada semua ADUN dan ahli parlimen, tidak kira dari apa parti politik sekalipun, untuk menyelidik sama ada terdapat rumah anak yatim di dalam kawasan masing-masing yang telah memulakan proses untuk mendaftar dengan JKM tetapi masih belum mendapat kelulusan dari tiga pihak berkuasa yang dinyatakan di atas. Saya menggesa mereka untuk memberi bantuan yang sewajarnya kepada rumah-rumah anak yatim itu supaya proses pendaftaran mereka dengan JKM tidak dilengah-lengahkan. Sekali lagi, perlu ditekankan bantuan kewangan JKM amatlah besar maknanya anak-anak yatim yang terbabit.

Susulan dari tragedi tanah runtuh yang menimpa Rumah Anak Yatim At-Taqwa, berbagai-bagai badan kerajaan dan politik telah menghulur bantuan kepada mangsa tragedi dan keluarga mereka. Ini pastinya adalah sesuatu yang amat baik, menggembirakan dan positif. Yang mungkin sedikit negatif adalah kemungkinan bantuan diberi dan diumumkan atas motif mengaut keuntungan politik atau 'political mileage'. Saya dengan rendah diri menyeru semua pihak untuk memberi segala bantuan dalam apa bentuk sekalipun dengan niat ikhlas untuk menolong membebankan ringan mangsa tragedi dan keluarga mereka. Janganlah harapkan apa-apa pulangan dari pertolongan yang diberi. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui akan isi hati kita sentiasa.

Buat akhir kata, marilah kita sedekahkan Al-Fatihah kepada anak-anak dan penjaga rumah yatim yang menjadi mangsa tragedi menyayat hati itu. Semoga Allah swt mencucurikan rahmatNya ke atas roh mereka semua. Al-Fatihah.



MISKAM HJ. SUPARMAN

24 May 2011

Is it possible for a 60-year old to sodomise a 20-year old? - Angeline Tay

A person of authority using his position or influence to gain sexual gratification from a person answerable or beholden to him is not a phenomenon either unknown or rare. It is in fact very common. Think of those sexual abuse cases involving Catholic priests and altar or choir boys which till now are plaguing the Catholic Church, those cases in the US military where superior officers sexually harass and exploit junior female personnel, instances in academia where instructors use their position to gain sexual advantage over students.
by Angeline Tay via e-mail



Many a time in the course of the Anwar Ibrahim sodomy II trial, the question was raised as to how a strong and reluctant twenty-something-year old man could be sodomised by a sixty-plus-year old person. This question presupposes that an element of physical force was involved to bring the victim to submission. That supposition may be entirely erroneous.

A person of authority using his position or influence to gain sexual gratification from a person answerable or beholden to him is not a phenomenon either unknown or rare. It is in fact very common. Think of those sexual abuse cases involving Catholic priests and altar or choir boys which till now are plaguing the Catholic Church, those cases in the US military where superior officers sexually harass and exploit junior female personnel, instances in academia where instructors use their position to gain sexual advantage over students.

In many cases, because of their shame, confusion and emotional trauma, the victims took a great deal of time, sometimes years, to speak out on the victimisation committed against them. Very often, there was no physical violence threatened or inflicted and the victims appear to have physically consented to the sexual relations. In actual fact, their mental confusion and reluctance to question or resist the 'requests' or 'suggestions' by a person they look up to made them vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Or the exploiter is someone the victim is dependent on for job security or career advancement. The Anwar/Saiful sodomy case can easily fit into this pattern.

Some people consider it inconceivable or impossible for Anwar to have forced Saiful to submit to be sodomised. This is a very blinkered view, almost willfully ignorant of what had happened in other parts of the world. The answer to the question posed many times by observers as to how it was possible that a 60-year old man can sexually exploit a physically strong 20-something year-old man is that the former by using his charisma, position and influence can persuade or coerce the latter to do things against the latter's better judgement with no physical violence or threats necessary. So the act can appear to be physically consensual but in the mind of the victim during or after the act, it is something done against his or her will and is forced on him or her.

Far from it for me to say at this point that was what actually transpired in the Anwar/Saiful sodomy case. That's for the trial to decide. What I'm saying is that it's time people stop playing stupid and start to accept that it is not an impossibility for sexual exploitation to have taken place with no actual physical resistance on the part of the victim. Things get very complicated once the victim 'submits' to the exploitation as the element of consent arguably becomes apparent. It is for this reason that sexual harassment laws have been formulated to deter persons holding positions of authority and power in organisations from even attempting to take sexual advantage of their underlings.



ANGELINE TAY MEI LIN
Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

23 May 2011

PAS dan Video Seks Anwar Ibrahim - Nik Adha

Isu video seks Anwar Ibrahim bukanlah satu musibah tetapi satu rahmat kepada PAS. Inilah peluang keemasan untuk PAS membuktikan ia benar-benar sebuah "hizbullah'. PAS sebenarnya kini berada dalam keadaan "menang-menang".
oleh Nik Adha Nik Kamil melalui e-mel



Perjuangan PAS sebagai sebuah "hizbullah" adalah berlandaskan hukum-hukum Allah swt. Sayugia, PAS menentang segala bentuk fitnah dan zina.

Pendedahan video seks Anwar Ibrahim boleh ditakrifkan sebagai fitnah zina. Jika video itu palsu, sebuah fitnah telah direkacipta untuk menganiayai Anwar Ibrahim. Jika video itu benar, Anwar Ibrahim telah melakukan zina. Hitam atau putih, tiada ruang untuk kelabu.

Isu video seks ini meletakkan PAS di persimpangan jalan. Isu ini sudah semestinya menguji keikhlasan PAS sebagai sebuah parti yang memperjuangkan syariat Islam. Setakat ini pendirian pucuk pimpinan PAS masih kabur dan samar mengenai isu ini. Pada waktu sama tiada juga tindakan pro-aktif oleh pemimpin-pemimpin PAS untuk menentukan kesahihan video tersebut.

PAS sepatutnya atas inisiatif sendiri merujuk kepada pakar-pakar video untuk menentukan kesahihan video tersebut yang kini telah tersebar meluas. Begitu juga teknologi canggih seperti pengecaman-muka perlu digunakan untuk mengenalpasti pelaku dalam video itu.

Segala usaha-usaha ini bebas dari apa-apa yang dilakukan oleh pihak-pihak lain. Ianya semata-mata untuk membantu pemimpin-pemimpin PAS membuat keputusan yang tepat dan bijak. Sambil memohon kepada Allah swt untuk memberi petunjuk, segala kepakaran yang sedia ada perlu digunakan untuk memberi penentuan. Berserah kepada Allah swt tetapi unta masih perlu ditambat juga.

Sebaliknya, apa yang dilihat umum ialah pemimpin-pemimpin PAS mengeluarkan kenyataan yang bercanggah-canggah. Mursyidul Am yakin Anwar tidak melakukan zina. Nik Aziz membuat kenyataan tanpa menonton video tersebut. Setiausaha Agung menyeru supaya menunggu keputusan siasatan polis. Mustapha Ali pula membuat kenyataan setelah dikatakan menonton video tersebut.

Pasukan polis yang menjadi rujukan Mustapha Ali adalah pasukan polis yang dilabel oleh PAS sebagai tidak adil dan tidak bebas.

Dalam masa yang sama, pemimpin-pemimpin PAS bersikap seolah-olah isu ini tidak wujud. Calon Timbalan Presiden, Mat Sabu pada satu sidang media telah menyatakan tidak akan melayan soalan-soalan mengenai video tersebut. Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pemilihan PAS, Halim Rahman pula menyatakan bahawa muktamar PAS 2011 tidak akan membincang isu video seks. Ada pemimpin-pemimpin PAS yang sanggup menjadi burung unta yang lebih selesa menimbus kepala dalam pasir.

Sama ada mendapat restu atau tidak dari pucuk pimpinan PAS, ahli-ahli PAS dan rakyat biasa tetap akan membincang isu video seks. Implikasi isu ini amat getir bukan hanya kepada keutuhan PAS sebagai sebuah "hizbullah" tetapi rakyat Malaysia turut, khususnya orang melayu, akan berpecah belah.

Yang membuat akar umbi PAS dan penyokong-penyokong Pakatan Rakyat amat gusar, lebih dari kandungan video tersebut, ialah tindak-tanduk Anwar setelah pendedahan dibuat. Banyak persoalan yang timbul:

  • Mengapa Anwar tidak mengumumkan identiti alibi-alibi beliau?
  • Mengapa penjelasan Anwar tentang ketidakhadirannya dalam ruang "Twitter" pada masa video dirakam amat mengelirukan?
  • Mengapa tidak ditunjukkan kepada umum jam Omega, jam yang dikatakan oleh Anwar dan Wan Azizah masih disimpan oleh Wan Azizah?
  • Mengapa tidak membuat sumpah laknat?
  • Mengapa tidak membuat ujian "polygraph"?
  • Mengapa tidak merujuk kepada pakar-pakar yang profesional dan bebas tentang kesahihan video tersebut?
  • Mengapa Anwar tidak menyaman malu individu-individu yang membuat pendedahan?
  • Mengapa Anwar gagal untuk mengesahkan persahabatan beliau dengan Eskay Abdullah?

Tindak-tanduk Anwar tidak mencerminkan kewibawaan beliau sebagai seorang pemimpin yang bijak menangani sebarang krisis.

Jika sah video tersebut palsu, PAS wajib mengembelingkan segala tenaga untuk menghukum pihak pemfitnah. Dataran Merdeka akan bertukar menjadi Dataran Tahrir. Tidak cukup bumi untuk pemfitnah melarikan diri. PAS secara "default" akan menjadi pemimpin kepada sebuah gerakan massa yang memperjuangkan kebenaran dan keadilan.

Jika sah video tersebut benar, PAS wajib menyisihkan seorang penzina. PAS akan dianggap sebagai satu parti politik yang berprinsip kerana sanggup mengenepikan kepentingan politik demi menegakkan hukum Allah swt. Sekaligus membuat parti-parti politik yang mengamalkan resam "matlamat menghalalkan cara" kelihatan kerdil bagai melukut di tepi gantang.

Isu video seks Anwar Ibrahim bukanlah satu musibah tetapi satu rahmat kepada PAS. Inilah peluang keemasan untuk PAS membuktikan ia benar-benar sebuah "hizbullah'. PAS sebenarnya kini berada dalam keadaan "menang-menang".


NIK ADHA NIK KAMIL

20 May 2011

Of Naked Paunches and Disappearing Goatees - Ariff Effendy

"Sumpah Laknat" may not be the most optimum religious act according to the swirling controversy surrounding it. But it is a way that is effective among the masses to discredit the video. Anwar should do it. If his intention is sincere in saving the ummah, Allah will be with him.
by Dr. Ariff Effendy via e-mail



The debate on the authenticity of the sex video purportedly showing Dato Seri Anwar patronising a prostitute has bewildered me, to say the least. Everyone seems to be either an expert in videography or has seen Anwar naked so often as to be able to determine if indeed he has the belly of a 40-year old.

That the whistle-blowers are not exactly of impeccable reputation is a reality in public opinion. That the powers that be are capable of manipulating circumstances in a situation that will benefit them, is also a probability.

I should then just ignore the video.

To be absolutely honest though, I have not been able to. It does bother me. Not because I really care about another person's carnal activities nor am I such a righteous person sincerely wanting to offer salvation to the misguided.

It is the blatant hypocrisy that disturbs me.

None of the whistle-blowers have been convicted in a court of law, yet we are quick to dish out our judgement of their character. Perhaps they have escaped the arms of the law because of the selective prosecution wanton in our country presently. Yes, that is a probability. Damn them for upsetting our apple-cart though.

I don't have to listen to these characters' judgement of Anwar but I am curious about the case they had presented. If Hitler had said the Aryans are the superior race, I would have ignored that judgement coming from a racist supremacist. However, just because Hitler said two plus two totals four, I'm not going to dispute it just because it comes from a mad man. You see, facts can be determined independently of the carrier of the message.

So how come the authenticity of the video and the identity of its participants seem so difficult to determine? It's not rocket science. The same people who believe that the video is a fraud made using technologies not even available to the CIA, KGB and Mossad, seem reluctant to resort to proven technology readily available to identify the video's participants.

So maybe there's no legal reason to do that as none of the country's laws have been broken and a royal commission that has been mooted should focus on more critical matters.

How much of critical importance is this sex video to me? Very very critical. I am sick of the hypocrisy of our country's leaders whom we have voted into office. And I am not about to replace them with characters just as bad, or worse.

I am very alarmed that an unfair allegation has been made against Anwar and yet Anwar who wants me to trust him to be my leader has refused to sue these people for defamation. If he doesn't trust this country's courts, then let us ask if he is willing to sue in United Kingdom if those people repeat the defamatory statements in the UK? Then Malaysians like me will have the benefit of the latest technology to resolve this matter if their defence is that of justification.

Whoever wins or loses, it is the rakyat that actually win. We are with him. Is he with us?

Or if he is partial to Islamic traditions, just do the "sumpah laknat" and get it over with. Public opinion will swing to him away from those rouges. After all, he has nothing to worry about as we all are very sure that Anwar the propagator of "penyerapan nilai-nilai Islam" in governance while he was in government would be the last person to patronise a prostitute.

"Sumpah Laknat" may not be the most optimum religious act according to the swirling controversy surrounding it. But it is a way that is effective among the masses to discredit the video. Anwar should do it. If his intention is sincere in saving the ummah, Allah will be with him.

I have reduced all this fog to just simply wanting to know the truth about my aspiring leader. This is not about the character of the rogues or the appropriateness of "sumpah laknat" or the fairness of our courts.

It is about whether person in the video is Anwar and whether there was a gun to his head while he was committing the act. The rest is just anybody's spin to divert the issue.

It is the hypocrisy that I can't stand. From whosoever.



DR ARIFF EFFENDY

19 May 2011

The Sacred and the Profane in Malaysian Politics - Syed Mohd Salim

Why enlist foreign ulamas who are ignorant of Malaysian politics to proclaim his innocence? Why not hire foreign video experts who are professional and impartial to prove his innocence? Why not sue the individuals responsible for the video for defamation if he was innocent of the act portrayed in it?
by Syed Mohd Salim via e-mail



Humans have always been beset by the existentialist questions: Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here?

Religions exist to provide the answers and to comfort the beleaguered. The need for religion is so real that the propensity for religion is programmed in the human genes. Religion is the basis for altruism, the critical factor in the evolution of humans as social animals. Religion is sacred.

Procreation is the sole mechanism for the evolution of the species. Since the advent of sexual reproduction as a means of procreation, organisms have striven to be the alpha male or the alpha female. This is the best strategy to ensure maximum opportunities for the replication of one's genes. Procreation is a natural phenomenon and it is values-free. It is the drive to be the alpha male or female, "red in tooth and claw", that is profane.

The line between the sacred and the profane is blurred in Malaysian politics today. Religion is readily abused in the quest to be the alpha-male, alpha-group, alpha-race. Religious issues are manipulated to gain or maintain power.

There are no qualms in oppressing one religion to get the support of the adherents of another. The various religions are kept apart and made to be wary of each other, even to the point of mounting "crusades" against another. The classic case of divide-and-rule.

Even more insidious than religion being used as a tool to maintain power but integral to that phenomenon is the role of religious charlatans in politics. These are politicians who use religious platforms to get support. In the Malaysian context, unscrupulous politicians use Islam to gain support from Muslims who form the majority population in the country.

The epitome of such politicians is Anwar Ibrahim. He rose to prominence through ABIM, an Islamic youth movement. He later joined UMNO and in a matter of eleven years became deputy president of the party, a sure-fire path to be the prime minister. While in the government, he engineered a radical Islamisation policy to politically outflank PAS. Since his ouster from the government in 1998, he maintains a group of Islamists as core supporters.

Anwar always portrays the image of a pious Muslim. He quotes Quranic verses in his speeches and draws analogies from the Islamic Traditions to sell his agenda. He gained recognition from the international community by grandstanding on Islamic issues.

Anwar Ibrahim with Yusuf Qaradawi
The Islamic cloak worn by Anwar is getting thread-bare. The video showing Anwar having sex with a prostitute has devastatingly exposed the real Anwar. Crying political conspiracy, Anwar refuses to take the initiative to prove that the video is a fake or that the perpetrator is not him. He could have used the latest face-recognition technology to prove his innocence, had he so wanted, but instead, he goes on a dog-and-pony show around the country crying political conspiracy.

The roadshows are basically religious gatherings with solat hajat (special prayers), tazkirah (sermons) and ceramahs (speeches) laced with quotes from the Quran and hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) where Anwar proclaims his innocence while guised in the Islamic cloak. He recruits ulamas (religious scholars), local and foreign, to prop up his Islamic stature.

Why enlist foreign ulamas who are ignorant of Malaysian politics to proclaim his innocence? Why not hire foreign video experts who are professional and impartial to prove his innocence? Why not sue the individuals responsible for the video for defamation if he was innocent of the act portrayed in it?

It is time Malaysians differentiate the sacred from the profane in Malaysian politics, lest "religion becomes the refuge of the scoundrel".



SYED MOHD SALIM SYED MOHD BAKAR

18 May 2011

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Anwar Ibrahim, and Paul Wolfowitz: The Woman Troubles of Men Who Oversee Money

Like three peas in a pod, Strauss Kahn, Anwar Ibrahim and Paul Wolfowitz, all seem to have issues that can cost them their political future, and all their problems relate to women (or in the case of Anwar, allegations of adultery with women and also men). Indeed, in a further parallel to Strauss-Kahn’s current predicament, it is worth noting that Anwar is not so much on trial for sodomy, as for sexual assault of an aide. The only difference is that Wolfowitz’s scandal was not of alleged sexual assault, but merely of a girlfriend-triggered conflict of interest.
by Christopher Badeaux at New Ledger



There’s something about being an “over-60″ money guy with little oversight.

The news this weekend is that International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn had apparently been caught with his pants down:

Prosecutors have charged International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn with a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment in the alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid in New York City, police said.

Strauss-Kahn, a key player in the world’s response to the 2007-09 financial meltdown and in Europe’s ongoing debt crisis, was removed from an Air France plane 10 minutes before it was to take off for Paris from John F Kennedy International Airport, New York police spokesman Paul Browne said.

A lawyer representing Strauss-Kahn, Benjamin Brafman, told Reuters in an email that the IMF chief “will plead not guilty.” Mr Brafman made no further comment.

A 32-year-old maid filed a sexual assault complaint after fleeing the hotel suite at the Sofitel in Times Square where the alleged incident occurred, Mr Browne said.

The Greek tragedy that is now befalling Strauss-Kahn is the latest in a series of similar cases of sex-related scandal that over the past few years have also involved former World Bank boss Paul Wolfowitz and former Malaysian finance minister (and close friend of Wolfowitz) Anwar Ibrahim.

Like three peas in a pod, Strauss Kahn, Anwar Ibrahim and Paul Wolfowitz, all seem to have issues that can cost them their political future, and all their problems relate to women (or in the case of Anwar, allegations of adultery with women and also men). Indeed, in a further parallel to Strauss-Kahn’s current predicament, it is worth noting that Anwar is not so much on trial for sodomy, as for sexual assault of an aide. The only difference is that Wolfowitz’s scandal was not of alleged sexual assault, but merely of a girlfriend-triggered conflict of interest.

Take a look at these three and their recent histories:

Strauss-Kahn, 62, is the former French Finance Minister who widely believed to be within inches of announcing his candidacy as opposition candidate to challenge President Nicholas Sarkozy of France in the upcoming national elections. But his past indiscretion with a fellow IMF staffer in 2008 nearly cost him his job, and as of Monday he was facing sexual assault charges that very likely will end his career.

Anwar Ibrahim & Paul Wolfowitz
Anwar, 64, is the former Malaysian Finance Minister who was hoping to challenge Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia in elections that are expected some time later this year or in 2012. But his alleged past indiscretion with a male staffer in 2008 may cost him his job as Opposition leader, a widely publicized video allegedly showing him with a woman not his wife is causing controversy at home, and as of Monday a court in Kuala Lumpur ruled that his own sex-related trial will proceed (has just been ordered to put on a defense to what seems like an increasingly likely sodomy conviction), and this could end his career.

Wolfowitz, 68, is the former Deputy Secretary of Defense and a close friend of Anwar whose career in public service essentially ended in 2007 when he was forced to resign as President of the World Bank over the lavish pay rise he arranged for his girlfriend, that in turn triggered the worst crisis in the institution’s history.

A 2010 report purports, based on documents released pursuant to FOIA requests, to document how Wolfowitz’s girlfriend Shaha Riza was paid a salary higher than that of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice by a foundation set up with $20 million of U.S. taxpayers’ money. Riza’s activities in this role were in apparent violation of conflict of interest regulations at the World Bank, and raised questions about tax, visa, and national security law violations as well.

But even more egregiously, according to the whistle blower report, Riza had helped get Anwar Ibrahim, a close friend of Wolfowitz, named as chairman of the same obscure State Department-funded Foundation for the Future. Wolfowitz meanwhile has continued to defend Anwar Ibrahim against his current sexual assault and sodomy charges in Malaysia.

So call it a coincidence, or call it a pattern. But when people of public stature, entrusted with political leadership or the stewardship of an institution such as the IMF or World Bank get into sex-related trouble, it can diminish the office, the person and the institution.

In Wolfowitz’s case, he has resigned. In Anwar’s case, he is on trial. In Strauss-Kahn’s case, he will likely go on trial.

Going forward, with Wolfowitz gone, and Strauss-Kahn a symbol of the respectable international Left now facing charges of criminal sexual assault, one wonders who in the international community will continue a defense of Anwar by inertia. After nearly sixty days of proceedings, Anwar has been ordered to present his defense by a court of law. The old defenses — stunted appeals to Anwar’s first sodomy trial, made by Wolfowitz no less — will ring increasingly hollow when the very men who once cried out that Anwar’s exceedingly-process-driven trial is a sham are themselves not so credible. The comparison has already become obvious in the French, German, and Spanish press.

For Anwar and Strauss-Kahn, both innocent until proven guilty but both accused of sexual peccadilloes for the second time, the ride through the criminal process is only beginning. For an international community too lazy to pay attention to the merits of Anwar’s alleged crimes, Strauss-Kahn’s troubles must serve as a wake-up call, and a reminder that even favored sons can stray.

WikiLeaks and the Altantuya Murder

The cables are replete with accounts of a long series of meetings with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who repeatedly told the Americans that Najib was connected to corrupt practices in the acquisition of the submarines as well as the purchase of Sukhoi Su-MCM-30 Flanker fighter jets from Russia. Anwar also called attention to Najib's connection to the Altantuya case.
by Asia Sentinel Correspondent



The US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur closely followed the trial of the accused killers of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu and frequently discussed whether current Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was involved in the killing, according to diplomatic cables supplied to Asia Sentinel by the WikiLeaks website.

The diplomats, like much of the public, also speculated that the trial was being deliberately delayed and feared what one cable calls "prosecutorial misconduct" that was being politically manipulated. The embassy officials based their concerns on sources within the prosecution, government and the political opposition.

The cables also draw attention to an intriguing allegation that then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi may have attempted to use the proceedings to implicate Najib, a claim that was quickly hushed up in the Malaysian press.

Altantuya was murdered in October 2006 by two of Najib's bodyguards, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30 and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35. who stood trial and were pronounced guilty in April 2009. Abdul Razak Baginda, one of Najib's best friends and Altantuya's lover, was accused of participating in the murder but was freed without having to put on a defense.

The murder has been tied closely to the US$1 billion acquisition of French submarines by the Malaysian ministry of defense, which Najib headed as defense minister during the acquisitions. Altantuya reportedly acted as a translator on the transaction, which netted Razak Baginda's company a €114 million "commission" on the purchase. Reportedly she had been offered US$500,000 for her part in translating. After she was jilted, she vainly demanded payment. A letter she had written was made public after her death saying she regretted attempting to "blackmail" Razak Baginda.

French lawyers are investigating whether some of the €114 million was kicked back to French or Malaysian politicians. Despite the scandal, the US government has not publicly backed away from Najib. In April 2010, Najib visited the White House and was praised by President Barack Obama for the parliament's passage of an act allowing Malaysian authorities to take action against individuals and entities engaged in proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The cables are replete with accounts of a long series of meetings with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who repeatedly told the Americans that Najib was connected to corrupt practices in the acquisition of the submarines as well as the purchase of Sukhoi Su-MCM-30 Flanker fighter jets from Russia. Anwar also called attention to Najib's connection to the Altantuya case.

A Jan. 24, 2007 cable, marked "secret," wrote that "Perceived irregularities on the part of prosecutors and the court, and the alleged destruction of some evidence, suggested to many that the case was subject to strong political pressure intended to protect Najib."

In a Feb. 1, 2008 cable, the embassy's Political Section Chief, Mark D. Clark, wrote that a deputy prosecutor had told him "there was almost no chance of winning guilty verdicts in the on-going trial of defendants Razak Baginda, a close advisor to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, and two police officers. She described the trial as interminably long." (That, of course, turned out to be wrong. Sirul and Azilah were ultimately convicted and have appealed their sentence)

Clark called the trial "a prosecutorial embarrassment from its inception, leading many to speculate that the ineptitude was by design. On the eve of the trial,Malaysia's Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail dropped his lead prosecutors and replaced them with less experienced attorneys. Similarly, a lead counsel for one of the defendants abruptly resigned before the trial 'because of (political) attempts to interfere with a defense he had proposed, in particular to protect an unnamed third party.'"

The protracted nature of the case, Clark continued, led "at least one regional newspaper to speculate that 'the case is being deliberately delayed to drive it from public view. Malaysia's daily newspapers rarely mention the case's latest developments, and it is unprecedented in Malaysian judicial history that a murder trial could drag on for seven months and still not give the defense an opportunity to present its case. Such an environment has led many to conclude that the case was too politically sensitive to yield a verdict before the anticipated general elections."

A January 2007 cable called attention to Razak Baginda's affidavit confirming that he sought the help of Musa Safri, later identified by reporters as Najib's aide-de-camp, in ridding him of the jilted woman, and in other cables pointed out that Musa had never been called for questioning.

In another cable, dated May 16, 2007, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, a deputy home affairs minister in former Prime Minister Ahmad Abdullah Badawi's cabinet told US Embassy officials that he was "certain that government prosecutors would limit their trial activities to the murder itself and the three defendants; prosecutors would not follow up on allegations of related corruption or other suspects."

In a Jan. 27, 2007 cable, marked "Secret," embassy officials wrote that "In December we heard from one of (Anwar's) lawyers that Razak Baginda's wife was in contact with Anwar and Wan Azizah, suggesting one possible source for Anwar's information."

Razak Baginda's wife, during one of his first appearances in court, screamed that her husband "doesn't want to be prime minister." That was taken by observers as a reference to the fact that Najib reportedly had been having an affair with Altantuya but passed her on to Razak Baginda because it would be unseemly to have a mistress when he succeeded Abdullah Badawi as premier. Najib has offered to swear on the Koran that he had never met the woman.

However, in July 2008, P Balasubramaniam, a former policeman and private detective who had been hired by Razak Baginda to protect him from Altantuya, filed a sworn statement saying he had been told by the accused man that Najib not only knew the murdered woman but had an affair with her and introduced her to him, passing her on because he did not want the onus of having a mistress in the event that he would become prime minister.

In a telephone interview on May 9, Anwar, however, told Asia Sentinel that Razak Baginda's wife was not the source of his knowledge of Najib's connection and that instead he had been told of the connection by Setev Shaariibuu, Altantuya's father, who said he had wished to present evidence of Najib's involvement, but was not allowed to do so. Multiple attempts to contact Setev by Asia Sentinel have been unsuccessful.

Almost immediately after he made the statement, Balasubramaniam was picked up and driven to a police station, where he was forced to withdraw the statement and write a new one saying Razak Baginda had told him nothing of the sort. Balasubramaniam fled Malaysia for India. He later said Najib's brother, Nizam, and wife, Rosmah Mansor, had met with him and that he was offered RM5 million (US$1.48 million) to forget his statement connecting Najib to Altantuya. Balasubramaniam displayed a flock of checks drawn on the account of an associate of Najib's wife. The former private detective has made a a series of statements from outside the country about Najib's involvement.

A February 2008 cable from Political Section Chief Clark gives a hint that Abdullah Badawi himself may have been trying to get rid of Najib by forcing Razak Baginda to implicate him in the murder.

"In the latest turn of the ongoing Altantuya murder trial (reftels), accused political insider Abdul Razak Baginda, who has remained calm and composed through most of the proceedings, unleashed an emotional tirade shortly after the February 20 noon recess on the trial's 90th day," Clark wrote. "Referring to the Prime Minister by his nick-name 'Pak Lah,' Razak reportedly exclaimed: 'You can die, Pak Lah! (in Malaysian - Matilah kau, Pak Lah!) I'm innocent!' according to unpublished journalist accounts.

"Local newspapers and the government news service Bernama reported the fact of the outburst, but did not print Razak's statements. The short-lived exception was the English language newspaper The Sun, which included the quotations from Razak in its early morning February 21 edition. Sources at newspaper confirmed to us in confidence that the Ministry of Internal Security compelled The Sun to withdraw and recall thousands of copies of their first run paper in which the original quote was included. Prime Minister Abdullah serves concurrently as Minister of Internal Security."

During the trial, Clark wrote, Razak Baginda, "appeared uneasy throughout the morning session of court on February 20. Razak's father, Abdullah Malim Baginda had whispered something to him shortly before the trial had begun for the morning and apparently upset the accused. Razak had remained quiet throughout the morning hearings, but just after the noon recess was called and as he was leaving the courtroom he kicked and banged the door and yelled "You can die, Pak Lah! Die, Pak Lah! I am innocent. I am innocent." He was later seen crying before his lawyer while his mother attempted to comfort him."

"Speculation is rife in Malaysia's on-line community concerning what it was that set off Razak Baginda outburst, including conspiracy theories alleging the Prime Minister's office had urged Razak to implicate Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak …in return for sparing Razak a guilty verdict and its mandatory death sentence," officials wrote.

The cable goes on to write, "Regardless, the Internal Security Ministry would want to limit any possibly inflammatory reference to the Prime Minister at the trial, and particularly at this juncture due to the proximity of Malaysia's general election to be held on March 8. Any connection between the Prime Minister and the murder trial would be scandalous. The GOM (government of Malaysia) reportedly has worked hard to 'drive (the case) from public view' … and is not about to allow the case to influence the coming elections."

Surat Terbuka Kepada Dr. Wan Azizah - Wan Nasuha

Ketika ummah bercakaran maka langkah pro-aktif dituntut untuk menghentikan segala kekusutan ummah. Hakikatnya, hanya Dr Wan Azizah sahaja di muka bumi ini yang berupaya untuk menyelesaikan kekusutan ini. Dr Wan Azizah perlu akur bahawa isu video ini telah menjangkaui kepentingan peribadi, keluarga dan politik. Keharmonian ummah sudah terancam dan kestabilan negara telah tergugat. Hanya Dr Wan Azizah yang mampu untuk menyelamatkan ummah daripada terus dilanda musibah ini.
oleh Wan Nasuha Wan Hassan melalui e-mel



Sebagai isteri dan ibu, saya turut bersimpati dengan derita yang melanda Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail dan keluarganya dengan isu pendedahan video seks yang didakwa menunjukkan Anwar Ibrahim melakukan perhubungan seks dengan seorang pelacur Cina. Mana-mana isteri di dunia ini akan luluh hati terluka jika benar suaminya telah berzina, dirakam aksi seks dan tersebar seluruh dunia. Disiarkan pula setiap hari dan malam di kaca televisyen.

Jika benar ini fitnah dan dusta, alangkah teraniaya beliau dan anak-anaknya sebagai seorang Muslimah. Alhamdulillah, setakat ini Dr Wan Azizah kelihatan tabah berdiri teguh di sisi suami meskipun diserang bertubi-tubi oleh pihak musuh politik. Dr Wan Azizah telah membuat kenyataan demi kenyataan bahawa lelaki di dalam video itu bukan Anwar Ibrahim. Malangnya, masih ada yang mempercayai Anwar Ibrahim adalah lelaki dalam video seperti yang didakwa.

Dakyah Utusan Malaysia, TV3 dan lain-lain media Umno/BN telah berjaya meracuni minda sebahagian besar masyarakat. Ummah telah berpecah dan berbalah kerana video ini, sehingga masjid dijadikan gelanggang pergaduhan. Hukum syariah, ayat-ayat suci Al Quran menjadi bahan mainan dengan tafsiran-tafsiran ikut selera politik dan agama Islam diperlekehkan. Keretakan di kalangan ummah memberi ruang kepada musuh untuk bertindak.

Ketika ummah bercakaran maka langkah pro-aktif dituntut untuk menghentikan segala kekusutan ummah. Hakikatnya, hanya Dr Wan Azizah sahaja di muka bumi ini yang berupaya untuk menyelesaikan kekusutan ini. Dr Wan Azizah perlu akur bahawa isu video ini telah menjangkaui kepentingan peribadi, keluarga dan politik. Keharmonian ummah sudah terancam dan kestabilan negara telah tergugat. Hanya Dr Wan Azizah yang mampu untuk menyelamatkan ummah daripada terus dilanda musibah ini.

Selama ini penafian secara lisan dari beliau telah diperlekehkan atas alasan beliau berkepentingan sebagai isteri untuk melindungi reputasi suami beliau. Tambahan pula si isteri adalah presiden parti yang berketua umumkan si suami. Mahu tak mahu, Dr Wan Azizah harus mengambil tindakan yang lebih tegas dan berani untuk menamatkan fitnah jijik ini.

Maka dengan ini, saya dengan segala rendah hatinya mencadangkan supaya Dr Wan Azizah membuat sumpah laknat atas nama Allah bahawa pelaku dalam video itu bukan suami beliau. Selepas membuat sumpah tersebut, beliau haruslah mengadakan sidang media di mana jam Omega suami beliau yang selama ini saya percaya di dalam simpanan beliau ditunjuk kepada para hadirin.

Tindakan Dr Wan Azizah yang tegas ini akan sekaligus menamatkan fitnah terhadap Anwar Ibrahim dan menyelamatkan ummah dari berpecah. Tiada insan rasional dapat menolak kesahihan sumpah laknat yang dibuat oleh Dr Wan Azizah, malah itu lebih efektif dari apa-apa sumpah laknat yang dibuat oleh Anwar Ibrahim sendiri. Apatah lagi diperkukuhkan dengan adanya jam Omega yang menafikan sama sekali bahawa Anwar telah berada di tempat di mana video hubungan seks haram telah dirakam.

Saya yakin Dr Wan Azizah sedar dan peka bahawa kewajipan beliau kepada Allah SWT untuk menegakkan kebenaran dan keadilan mengatasi segala pertimbangan duniawi. Sesungguhnya penyelesaian kepada isu yang kian memecahbelahkan ummah ini terletak di tangan beliau. Saya amat berharap dan berdoa beliau menyambut baik cadangan ini dan seterusnya mengambil tindakan yang dicadangkan, Insya-Allah.

Sekian, Wasallam.



WAN NASUHA BINTI WAN HASSAN

Sex, lies and the reckless choices of the powerful

One pattern psychologists detect in top politicians is a readiness to engage in an extreme amount of risk-taking, said Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia. In the Strauss-Kahn case, if true, Farley said a crime would be "exceptionally risky."

"Risk-taking is one of the essential ingredients in highly successful or leading public figures and politicians," said Farley. "Strauss-Kahn (case) fits that bill."
by Caren Bohan and Tabassum Zakaria at Reuters via Yahoo! News



Sex and power are no strangers. History is littered with tales of the powerful and privileged felled by sex scandals.

But make no mistake. If IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is found guilty as charged of attempting to rape a hotel maid in New York City, he would be in a league virtually of his own.

Few have been accused of a violent crime like Strauss-Kahn. The world financier and French presidential hopeful was charged on Sunday with criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape in New York City after a hotel maid said she was assaulted.

"Politics and power and sexual harassment certainly have a long history," said Michele Swers, associate professor of government at Georgetown University. "This being an attempted criminal rape is, I think, of an order of a different magnitude."

There is no shortage of powerful leaders who fell from grace for affairs, prostitutes and groping. Sexual indiscretions have weakened governments and buried political careers on both sides of the Atlantic, today and in ages past.

Among the most famous is the Profumo scandal in 1963 in which a British war secretary was forced to resign because he had an affair with a prostitute linked to a Russian spy.

The Strauss-Kahn case raises some of the same questions that surface in any scandal where politics and sex intersect. Did the accused abuse power to engage in high-risk behavior, and did power make him feel invincible, above the law?

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, ex-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and 2012 presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich are just a few of the powerful who have faced that kind of scrutiny, although none had to answer to charges of violent crime.

"Power is an aphrodisiac, as is well known, and we know as well that power in one sense is often presumed to be power in another sense," said James Walston, professor of Italian politics at the American University of Rome.

"So a person who is head of the IMF might think he can get away with anything. Certainly Berlusconi appears to think that way."

Berlusconi, 74, a towering figure of Italy's center right, is facing four concurrent trials for corruption, tax fraud and, most sensationally, sex with an underage prostitute and then using his office to cover it up. The sex charge followed years of rumors of his sexual misbehavior.

Strauss-Kahn is no stranger to these questions. In 2008, he was investigated by the IMF over possible abuse of power over a brief affair with an economist at the Fund who was his subordinate. The affair was consensual and he was cleared, but he apologized publicly for "a serious error of judgment.

France, like Italy, traditionally is quite tolerant of extra-marital affairs, unlike the United States. The out-of-wedlock daughter of former President Francois Mitterand attended his funeral. This time though, French politicians and the public were shocked. The charges "struck like a thunderbolt," in the words of the leader of the Socialist Party to which Strauss-Kahn belonged.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, is due to appear in court later on Sunday and his wife, a successful French media personality, has said she has "no doubt his innocence will be re-established."

'EGOTISM, NARCISSISM'

It is rare for a politician to go to jail for a sex crime. Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav was sentenced in March to seven years in prison for rape when he was a Cabinet minister in the late 1990s. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it showed "no person is above the law."

One pattern psychologists detect in top politicians is a readiness to engage in an extreme amount of risk-taking, said Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia. In the Strauss-Kahn case, if true, Farley said a crime would be "exceptionally risky."

"Risk-taking is one of the essential ingredients in highly successful or leading public figures and politicians," said Farley. "Strauss-Kahn (case) fits that bill."

Clinton also fits the profile. He came from modest means, faced many ups and downs in his political path to the presidency, only to risk all when he had an affair with intern Monica Lewinsky in the White House.

Adulation awarded to high-fliers can also contribute.

"You have people who are committed supporters around you and they don't want to see anything bad happen to you in terms of career, so there will always be people who are willing to then cover it up," said Swers.

John Edwards, a U.S. Democratic presidential candidate in 2004 and 2008, squandered his promising career by having an affair with a woman on his campaign, while his wife battled cancer. Elizabeth Edwards has since died.

Edwards blamed his meteoric rise in presidential politics and the fawning that came with it.

All that "fed a self-focus, an egotism, a narcissism that leads you to believe that you can do whatever you want. You're invincible. And there will be no consequences," Edwards told ABC News in 2008. He later admitted he had fathered the woman's child.

While a sense of strength and fearlessness and a near disregard of consequences can make for great, powerful leaders, the problems come when they do not acknowledge they are human, said Robert Weiss, founder and director of the Sexual Recovery Institute, which specializes in sexual addiction.

"If their narcissism or egotism isn't matched by a healthy dose of humility of what it means to be human ... and they run on their intellect and don't attend to their emotions on any level ... then they are bound for trouble," said Weiss.